Love In The Shadows
by TheWritingNinja
Summary: Lauren is in love with Danny, but when the secret gets out, something she never expected happens...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-

Have you ever wanted something so bad, that you could almost taste it right there, on the farthest taste bud on your tongue? It was so close, and it was sitting right there, right out of your grasp?

That was me, last year. I was the girl sitting there in the cafeteria, nearly falling into my grayish-brown mush, made of God-knows-what, and staring. Not that I'm-really-not-staring-but-more-like-thinking stare. No, it was that I'M-STARING-RIGHT-AT-YOU stare. And that "you" happened to be Danny.

Danny could be about the most beautiful guy ever, if you consider guys beautiful. His eyes sparkled in the much too bright florescent cafeteria lights. His skin was tanned, but lightly, not by a tanning bed, just… naturally. His blonde shaggy hair hung down over his eyes, so that he had to flip his head constantly just to get the hair out of his eyes. He was perfect; he was in shape, smart, funny, popular, nice, and super cute.

There were only two things wrong with my perfect fantasy—I was no where near the levels of Danny. I wasn't popular, or super cute, or even funny around him. I was just the quiet girl with dark brown hair, and weird violet eyes that was in four of his seven classes, but usually didn't speak. I would even be surprised if he knew I existed.

The other thing reason Danny and I wouldn't be together was Haley, Danny's girlfriend. The cheerleader type, obviously, that everyone liked. She had super-straight platinum blonde hair that, as she clutched Danny's arm and giggled, fell in a loose braid.

"Lauren?"

"Whaaaa-?" I said, startled. I turned to my best friend, Callie, and she looked confused.

"I asked you if you finished that science lab today in class." said Callie.

"Oh! Ye-yeah. Here you go." I fumbled with my backpack and shoved the worksheet at her. Then, I turned back to Danny. He was with the other popular boys yelling "Chug!" at Tim Ordem, who was chugging his milk carton down. I giggled at how cute Danny looked when he when yelling and laughing at Tim, something I had never noticed before. Callie, by then, had finished copying the paper down, and followed my gaze to Danny. And the next thing I will never forget; Callie screamed, incredibly loud "OMG! YOU LIKE DANNY TRAVIS?"

**Please review this! It's the first chapter for my first story! YAY!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-

I could have killed her; I _should _have killed her. Right then, and there, just strangled her. But I couldn't. I couldn't even move.

Everyone was looking at Callie; at us. Her jaw was still dropped, her arm still pointed in my direction.

"You totally do!" Callie insisted, "You've been staring at him!"

"What? What are you talking about?" I asked, still baffled. Was it that obvious? Sure I was staring, but…

"C'mon Lauren," Callie said with a disbelieving smirk.

"I… I…" I could feel the tears coming.

"I'm not stupid, Lauren." Callie said.

"Ye-yes you are!" I screamed at Callie. Then, I dashed out of the cafeteria.

"OMG! YOU LIKE DANNY TRAVIS?" I can't believe that just happened. Oh my God. Everyone turns to look at Callie Holt, the girl who screamed my name. She's pointing at Lauren Graham, and Lauren looks startled.

Haley looks up at me and mouths, "What is she talking about, Danny?"

"I don't know," I mouth back, looking around the cafeteria at the others. They keep looking at Lauren, then me, and back to Lauren. Suddenly, she flies out of the room, and the murmuring begins.

"What was that about?"

"I don't know, Lauren I guess."

"Looks like you have an admirer, Danny."

"Uh oh, you got competition Haley."

"Lauren is such a nerd, too."

"Yeah, I know."

"Ooh Danny!" And once one annoying person said that, the entire cafeteria was "oohing" my name. Haley, looking hurt, tried to stop them, to no avail.

"Danny is in love with a nerd!" Finally, a lunch lady, of all people, came to my rescue.

"Please, everyone, continue eating." she yelled at the crowd and they all shut up. It wasn't like it never happened, though I didn't know it yet. But I would soon.


End file.
